2001
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This article is about the year. For other uses, see 2001 (disambiguation).
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Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. It was the year of the snake in the Chinese Zodiac.
By traditional interpretation of the Gregorian Calendar, 2001 is also the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium. Popular culture, however, views the year 2000 as holding this distinction.
Also see: Wikipedia's almanac of events for this year.
Contents
[edit] Events of 2001
[edit] January
January 1 - A black monolith measuring approximately 9 feet tall appears in Seattle, Washington's Magnuson Park, placed by an anonymous artist in reference to the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. January 3 - The 107th United States Congress is sworn in.
January 8 - Noah, a gaur, is born, the first individual of an endangered species to be cloned. January 11 - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission approves the merger of America Online and Time Warner to form AOL Time Warner. January 13 - A 7.6 magnitude earthquake hits all of El Salvador, killing at least 800 people and leaving thousands homeless. (See also February 13.) January 15 - Wikipedia is founded. January 16 - US President Bill Clinton awards former US President Theodore Roosevelt a posthumous Medal of Honor for his service during the Spanish-American War. Eleven of Roosevelt's descendants accept on his behalf. January 17 - Impeachment proceedings against Philippine President Joseph Estrada, accused of committing plunder, end prematurely and trigger the second EDSA People Power Revolution or People Power II. January 20 - Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is sworn in as the 14th President of the Philippines after the Armed Forces of the Philippines and several cabinet members withdraw support for Joseph Estrada. January 20 - George W. Bush is sworn in as the 43rd President of the United States. January 22 - Four of the "Texas 7" are caught at a convenience store in Woodland Park, Colorado, and a fifth kills himself inside a motor home.Confirmation needed January 23-January 25 - United Nations war crimes prosecutor Del Ponte demands that Serbia hand over Slobodan Milošević.Confirmation needed January 23 - The Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident occurs. January 24 - The last 2 of the "Texas 7" are taken into custody in Colorado Springs, Colorado.Confirmation needed January 24 - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Mandelson resigns from the British cabinet for the second time. January 25 - A 50-year-old Douglas DC-3 crashes near Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela, killing 24.[1] January 26 - An earthquake hits Gujarat, India, killing more than 12,000. January 28 - The Baltimore Ravens defeat the New York Giants 34-7 in Super Bowl XXXV. It is the Ravens' first Super Bowl title.
[edit] February
February 6 - Likud Party leader Ariel Sharon wins election as Prime Minister of Israel. February 9 - The submarine USS Greeneville strikes and sinks the Japanese fishing vessel Ehime-Maru near Hawaii. February 11 - Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh is imploded. February 12 - The NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft touches down in the "saddle" region of 433 Eros, becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid. February 13 - A 6.6 magnitude earthquake hits El Salvador, killing at least 400. February 16 - Iraq disarmament crisis: British and U.S. forces carry out bombing raids, attempting to disable Iraq's air defense network. February 16 - US and UK war planes bomb a Baghdad suburb, killing three. February 18 - NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt is killed in a crash during the Daytona 500. February 18 - FBI agent Robert Hanssen is arrested and charged with spying for Russia for 15 years. February 19 - An Oklahoma City bombing museum is dedicated at the Oklahoma City National Memorial. February 20 - The 2001 UK foot and mouth crisis begins. February 23 - Four students are killed and one critically injured by a University of California, Santa Barbara freshman. February 28 - The Selby rail crash near Selby, North Yorkshire, England, kills 10 people. February 28 - The Nisqually Earthquake strikes Seattle, Washington.
[edit] March
March 4 - Hintze Ribeiro disaster: A bridge collapses in northern Portugal, killing up to 70. March 23 - The Russian space station Mir re-enters the atmosphere near Nadi, Fiji, and falls into the Pacific Ocean. March 25 - The 73rd Academy Awards, hosted by Steve Martin are held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, with Gladiator winning Best Picture.
[edit] April
April 1 - U.S.-China Spy Plane Incident: A Chinese fighter jet bumps into a U.S. EP-3E surveillance aircraft which is forced to make an emergency landing in Hainan, China. The U.S. crew is detained for 10 days and the F-8 Chinese pilot, Wang Wei, goes missing and is presumed dead. April 1 - Former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia President Slobodan Milošević surrenders to police special forces, to be tried on charges of war crimes. April 1 - In the Netherlands, the Act on the Opening up of Marriage goes into effect. The Act allows same-sex couples to marry legally for the first time in the world since the reign of Nero. April 7 - Timothy Thomas, a 19-year-old African-American, is shot by a police officer in Cincinnati, sparking riots in downtown Cincinnati from April 10 to April 12. April 21 - The small Kansas town of Hoisington is hit by a F-4 tornado destroying 1/3 of the city and killing 1. April 26 - Junichiro Koizumi becomes Prime Minister of Japan. April 28 - Soyuz TM-32 lifts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, carrying the first space tourist, American Dennis Tito. April 29 - The UK Census is conducted in the United Kingdom. April 30 - Blanche Barton, High Priestess of the Church of Satan, steps down and gives her position to Peter H. Gilmore and Peggy Nadramia.
[edit] May
May 1 - The Japanese cities of Urawa, Omiya, and Yono merge to form the city of Saitama. May 1 - Washington, DC police declare Chandra Levy missing (her remains are discovered a year later). May 6 - Space tourist Dennis Tito returns to Earth aboard Soyuz TM-31. (Soyuz TM-32 is left docked at the International Space Station as a new lifeboat.) May 7 - In Banja Luka, Bosnia-Herzegovina, an attempt is made to reconstruct the Ferhadija mosque. However, the ceremony results in mass riots by Serb nationalists that beat and stone 300 elderly Bosnian Muslims. May 10 - A soccer game stampede in Ghana kills over 120. May 13 - Silvio Berlusconi and the Italian House of the Liberties coalition win general elections. May 22 - A large trans-Neptunian object (28978 Ixion) is found during the Deep Ecliptic Survey. May 22-May 23 - The Bahá'à Terraces officially open on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel (site of the Shrine of the Báb and the Bahá'à World Centre). May 23 - Bayern München wins the UEFA Champions League. May 24 - Sherpa Temba Tsheri, 16, becomes the youngest person to conquer Mount Everest. May 24 - The Versailles wedding hall disaster kills 23 in Jerusalem, Israel.
[edit] June
June 1 - Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal kills his father, the king, his mother and other members of the royal family with an assault rifle and then shoots himself in the Nepalese royal massacre. Dipendra dies June 4, as King of Nepal. His uncle Gyanendra accedes to the throne. June 1 - A Hamas suicide bomber kills 21, mostly teenagers, in the Dolphinarium disco in Tel Aviv, Israel. June 5-June 9 - Tropical Storm Allison produces 36 inches (900 mm) of rain in Houston, Texas, killing 22, damaging the Texas Medical Center, and causing more than 5 billion American dollars of damage overall. June 5 - U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords leaves the Republican party, an act which changes control of the United States Senate from the Republican party to the Democratic party. June 7 - Tony Blair's Labour Party wins the United Kingdom general election. June 8 - Mamoru Takuma murders 8 first and second grade students and wounds 15 others in Osaka, Japan. June 11 - In Terre Haute, Indiana, Timothy McVeigh is executed for the Oklahoma City Bombing. June 19 - An American missile hits a soccer field in northern Iraq (Tel Afr County), killing 23 and wounding 11. June 20 - Pervez Musharraf becomes President of Pakistan after the resignation of Muhammad Rafiq Tarar. June 20 - Andrea Yates drowns her children in a bathtub and confesses to her crime. She is sentenced to life in prison. June 21 - The world's longest train was set up by BHP Iron ore and was recorded going between Newman and Port Headland in Western Australia. A distance of 275km (170 miles) and the train consisted of 682 loaded iron ore wagons and 8 GE AC6000 locomotives giving a gross weight of almost 100,000 tonnes and moved 82,262 tonnes of ore, the train was 7.353 km (4.568 miles) long. June 23 - An earthquake with 7.9 on the Richter scale, hits the south of Peru.
[edit] July
July 2 - The world's first self-contained artificial heart is implanted in Robert Tools. July 3 - A Vladivostokavia Tupolev Tu-154 jetliner crashes on approach to landing at Irkutsk, Russia, killing 145. July 13 - Beijing wins the bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympics July 16 - The People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation sign the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation. July 16 - The FBI arrests Dmitry Sklyarov at a convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, for violating a provision of the DMCA. July 17 - Inauguration of the Altamira caves's replica created by Manuel Franquelo and Sven Nebel. July 18 - In Baltimore, Maryland, a 60-car train derailment occurs in a tunnel, sparking a fire that lasts days and virtually shuts down downtown Baltimore. July 19 - UK politician and novelist Jeffrey Archer is sentenced to 4 years in prison for perjury and perverting the course of justice. July 20 - Vanessa Legget is found in contempt by a Federal Court for refusing to release notes made for her book on the Doris Angleton murder. July 20-July 22 - The 27th G8 summit takes place in Genoa, Italy. Massive demonstrations are held against the meeting by anti-globalisation groups. One demonstrator, Carlo Giuliani, is shot dead by a carabiniere. Several others are badly injured during a police attack on a school used by the protesters as their headquarters. July 24 - Tamil Tigers attack Bandaranaika International Airport in Sri Lanka, causing an estimated $500 million of damages. July 28 - Alejandro Toledo is sworn in as the new president of Peru, 8 months after a vote of no-confidence in former President Alberto Fujimori.
[edit] August
August 1 - Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore has a 2½ ton monument of the Ten Commandments installed in the Rotunda of the Judiciary Building. He is later sued to have it removed, and eventually removed from office. August 2 - Robert Mueller is confirmed as the new FBI director. August 9 - U.S. President George W. Bush announces his support for federal funding of limited research on embryonic stem cells. August 9 - In the Comoros, the "Military Committee" of Major Mohamad Bacar seizes power in the island of Anjouan, which had declared independence. They plan to rejoin the Comoros. August 24 - The Heino murders in Finland: four teenagers assassinate businessman Martti Heino and his wife Elise Heino.